Tracking Trump Administration Executive Orders Relating to Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources
This advisory provides a high-level overview of executive orders (EOs) and Presidential memoranda related to environment, energy, and natural resources signed by President Trump on Inauguration Day and the days immediately following. The list is current as of January 23, 2025 – we will endeavor to maintain it as developments warrant. This overview includes only key provisions; please refer to the linked documents for details.
Beveridge & Diamond is closely monitoring developments in the new administration and maintains a resource page with materials that may be helpful to clients. Key contacts for our task force – all of whom have senior career experience at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and state attorney general offices in Democratic and Republican administrations - include Allyn Stern, Amber Ahmed, Justin Smith, and Stephen Smith. Please contact our task force or your usual B&D contact with any questions.
Regulatory Freeze and Regulatory Rescissions
“Regulatory Freeze Pending Review”
- Freezes issuance of rules and proposed rules pending approval by an appropriate agency head or official.
- Directs withdrawal of rules sent to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) but not published in the Federal Register.
- Directs agencies to consider postponement of the effective date of rules that have been issued but have not taken effect.
- A recent B&D client alert discusses regulatory freezes and provides background on their operation.
“Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions”
- Revokes numerous Biden administration EOs, proclamations, and Presidential memoranda, including many addressing energy, climate change, environment, environmental justice, and regulatory review.
- Orders the Directors of the Domestic Policy Council and National Economic Council to review actions taken pursuant to revoked documents “and take necessary steps to rescind, replace or amend such actions as appropriate.”
Energy and Environment
“Declaring A National Energy Emergency”
- Declares a national energy emergency and directs use of “any lawful emergency authorities” and “all other lawful authorities” to “facilitate the identification, leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining, and generation of domestic energy resources, including, but not limited to, on federal lands.” Agencies may submit recommendations to the President to exercise “Federal eminent domain authorities or authorities afforded under the Defense Production Act.”
- Energy is defined as “crude oil, natural gas, lease condensates, natural gas liquids, refined petroleum products, uranium, coal, biofuels, geothermal heat, the kinetic movement of flowing water, and critical minerals.” The definition excludes wind and solar.
- Directs EPA and the Department of Energy to consider issuance of “emergency fuel waivers to allow the year-round sale of E15 gasoline.”
- Agencies should use these authorities to “expedite the completion of all authorized and appropriated infrastructure, energy, environmental, and natural resources projects.”
- For “planned or potential actions to facilitate the Nation’s energy supply,” directs all agencies to pursue “emergency treatment” under regulations and nationwide permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and EPA under Clean Water Act § 404, Rivers and Harbors Act § 10, and Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act § 103.
- For “planned or potential actions to facilitate the Nation’s energy supply,” directs all agencies to invoke the Endangered Species Act’s emergency consultation processes.
- Declares policies that include (1) encouraging “energy exploration and production on Federal lands and waters”; (2) “to establish our position as the leading producer and processor of non-fuel minerals”; (3) to eliminate the electric vehicle (EV) mandate, terminate state emissions waivers that limit sales of gasoline-powered automobiles, and consider elimination of subsidies for EVs; (4) to “safeguard the American people’s freedom to choose from a variety of goods and appliances, including but not limited to lightbulbs, dishwashers, washing machines, gas stoves, water heaters, toilets, and shower heads”; and (5) “to ensure that the global effects of a rule, regulation, or action shall . . . be reported separately from its domestic costs and benefits.”
- Requires all agency heads to review and “suspend, revise or rescind” existing regulations “that impose an undue burden on the identification, development, or use of domestic energy resources – with particular attention to oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, biofuels, critical mineral, and nuclear energy resources” or that are otherwise inconsistent with the policies set forth in the order.
- The Attorney General “shall consider whether pending litigation against illegal, dangerous, or harmful policies should be resolved through stays or other relief.”
- Directs the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to propose rescinding its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations and propose guidance on implementing NEPA.
- Directs CEQ to establish a working group to coordinate revision of agency NEPA regulations, which must “expedite permitting approvals” and “prioritize efficiency and certainty over any other objectives.”
- Directs agencies to “eliminate all delays within their respective permitting processes” including through “general permitting and permit by rule” and the use of emergency authorities where appropriate.
- Provides for recommendations to Congress to “facilitate the permitting and construction of interstate energy transportation and other critical energy infrastructure, including but not limited to pipelines” and “streamlining the judicial review of the application of NEPA.”
- In permitting and regulatory processes, “agencies shall adhere to only the relevant legislated requirements for environmental considerations and any considerations beyond these requirements are eliminated.”
- Disbands the Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases and withdraws guidance and documents it has issued. Directs EPA to issue guidance addressing the “harmful and detrimental inadequacies” of the social cost of carbon, including considering eliminating its use.
- Directs EPA to submit recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) “on the legality and continuing applicability” of the 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding.
- Directs agencies to “immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act . . . or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act” and review their processes “for issuing grants, loans, contracts, or any other financial disbursements of such appropriated funds.” Directs agencies to consider use of enforcement discretion to advance the policies set forth in the EO.
- Directs the Secretary of Energy to “restart reviews of applications for approvals of liquefied natural gas export projects” and the Administrator of the Maritime Administration to conduct a review of “proposed refinements” to approved deepwater ports for liquified natural gas export.
- Directs the Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, and other agencies to “identify all agency actions that impose undue burdens on the domestic mining and processing of non-fuel minerals and undertake steps to revise or rescind such actions” and “reassess any public lands withdrawals for potential revision.” Directs actions by other agencies to advance the supply of critical minerals and the competitiveness of U.S. industry.
- Withdraws all areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from new or renewed leasing for offshore wind purposes. Directs that the Secretary of the Interior prepare a report addressing whether to terminate or amend existing leases.
- Agencies may “not issue new or renewed approvals, rights of way, permits, leases or loans” for onshore or offshore wind projects pending the completion of a “comprehensive assessment and review of Federal wind leasing and permitting practices.”
“Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential”
- Declares national policy to “expedite the permitting and leasing of energy and natural resource projects in Alaska” and prioritize the sale of Alaskan liquified natural gas. Directs agencies to implement this policy by rescinding, amending, or granting exemptions from agency decisions and policies.
- Directs the Secretary of the Interior to withdraw, rescind or review a set of agency decisions relating to Alaska, including restrictions on the development of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
“Putting America First In International Environmental Agreements”
- Directs withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate and other listed international agreements and actions.
“Delivering Emergency Price Relief For American Families and Defeating the Cost-Of-Living Crisis”
- Directs agencies to “eliminate counterproductive requirements that raise the costs of home appliances” and “eliminate harmful, coercive ‘climate’ policies that increase the costs of food and fuel,” among other actions.
“Putting People Over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California”
- Directs the Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Commerce to “route more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to other parts of the state.”
Environmental Justice and Related Issues
“Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing”
- Directs agencies to “terminate . . . all DEI, DEIA and environmental justice offices and positions,” and related agency programs.
“Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity”
- Revokes multiple EOs relating to civil rights implementation and environmental justice, including EO 12898.
- Directs that contracts and grants include provisions restricting diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. Provides for review and revision of agency “processes, directives and guidance” to “terminate diversity and equity “mandates, requirements, programs, or activities.”
- Directs the Attorney General, in consultation with other agencies, to submit a report “containing recommendations for enforcing Federal civil rights laws and taking other appropriate measures to encourage the private sector to end illegal discrimination and preferences, including DEI.” Among other elements, the report must contain a plan by each agency to “identify up to nine potential civil compliance investigations of publicly traded corporations, large non-profit corporations or associations, foundations with assets of 500 million dollars or more, State and local bar and medical associations, and institutions of higher education with endowments over 1 billion dollars.”
- In addition to the provisions discussed above, this EO revokes and abolishes any offices established under EO 14008 (Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad) and EO 14096 (Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All).
Beveridge & Diamond has assembled a task force that is closely watching election-related developments across multiple environmental, energy, and natural resources subject areas. Nearly two-thirds of the firm’s lawyers have prior U.S. state or federal government experience, and members of the Task Force include several former EPA and DOJ attorneys who served under both the initial Trump and Biden administrations. Please let us know how we can assist you in addressing the impacts from the change in the Administration and Congress.